


Midnight Sorceress

by KianaLi



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2018-12-07 11:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11622582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KianaLi/pseuds/KianaLi
Summary: A member of SHIELD is forced to struggle with her mental stability and keeping her secret as the craziness surrounding the Avengers crashes around her. She ends up befriending Tony and Pepper, who help out her mental health a great deal, but will they be able to help her with her secret? Something that could destroy her if she uses it too much... What will happen when Tony tries to convince her to use it to help the Avengers?





	1. What a Pain

**Author's Note:**

> This series starts after the events of the Avengers, but before the events of Iron Man 3. Each chapter will have a rough timeline of where in between the different movies it takes place.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A member of SHIELD is forced to struggle with her mental stability and keeping her secret as the craziness surrounding the Avengers crashes around her. She ends up befriending Tony and Pepper, who help out her mental health a great deal, but will they be able to help her with her secret? Something that could destroy her if she uses it too much... What will happen when Tony tries to convince her to use it to help the Avengers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This series starts after the events of the Avengers, but before the events of Iron Man 3. Each chapter will have a rough timeline of where in between the different movies it takes place. [Chapter Rewritten 5/17/2018]

_After the attack on New York by the Chitauri—or... the 'aliens' for most citizens unaware of what they were called, I've decided to keep a small little journal of sorts. It's not much, but I suppose it allows me to vent some and get my thoughts out. I'm not particularly fond of sharing my feelings, but I was told I have to get it out somehow._

_If you're reading this, and I **have** given you permission, please turn to page **three**._

_If you are reading this, and I **have not** given you permission, please turn to page **two**._

 

_[PAGE 2]_

 

_Fuck off. (Not that you will but at least I have the satisfaction of telling you to.)_

 

_[PAGE 3]_

 

_I guess I should explain a few things before I start, huh?_

_A bit about me-- I work with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, or SHIELD for short. I was approached by an agent after an incident in college that was nearly the cause of my death, but there'll be more time to explain that later._

_The major thing I should tell you is... that I do have powers, but I'm limited with how I much I can use them. The power itself would actually be fairly useful in helping SHIELD—my powers being similar to telekinesis. It's a... bit more complicated than that, though. I'm not sure if there's a name for how my powers work, but not only can I lift objects and move them from their original position; but I can also make them semi-sentient. I can use cooking utensils to cook food while I'm in another room, or fixing up something that I'm not too familiar with while I read a book._

_I can also make objects change shape, which is pretty cool. I could use them for fighting, if I had the strength to do it. I've had a paper plate and bowl fight in the shape of different animals. When I'm alone, I like bringing stray blades of grass together and make them dance on the wind._

 

_Now, you have a decent understanding of why SHIELD was interested in me to begin with. Let's revisit the college story so you can know a bit more of what happened._

 

_I still remember the day **vividly** , like a dream I had just woken up from. It was the fall semester and the sky was cloudy with the looming winter weather overhead. I had been in the cafeteria, working on an essay for one of my classes, earbuds in with music playing. I had been snacking on some chips, not hungry enough to get breakfast but too hungry to wait for lunch. I felt the ground shaking before I noticed the students starting to frantically run out of the room. I had pulled my earbuds out, having less than a few seconds to realize what was going on. The ceiling was falling down from the other side of the cafeteria before a loud boom disoriented me, seeing some of the students nearby about to be hit with bits of the ceiling that were coming down over us. In my fight-or-flight response, I froze, or felt like I did anyway._

_What was I going to do? Could I even get away in time? Should I use my powers? That could **kill me**! The thoughts went by so fast it felt like watching pages of a book flipping past and a blur left behind in its wake. In a split second, I lifted my hands to stop the oncoming debris from crushing the rest of us who were left in the building. I can briefly remember the other students staring at me in awe and my strained voice screaming at them to go. When I saw the last student get out the door, I had used my powers for so long that I was unable to hold it up for my own escape._

_I was told that another student had decided that the best course of action was to bomb the school, most likely in an attempt to do a murder/suicide. There were three bombs that went off in total, one over the gym that was empty at the time it went off, and two over the area of the cafeteria. They were small enough that the building itself was still standing, but had caused a good amount of damage. I was lucky enough that the students I had saved were quick to tell the college staff that I was still inside._

_My parents had flown out from the UK to make sure I was okay and the school put together some get-well cards and flowers that were put around my room. It was a nice thing to wake up to, but when I did awaken there was a figure in a black suit waiting to talk to me._

_It was an agent from SHIELD, that told me they wanted to bring me in; not only to make sure I was healing properly—having better advancements in healing than the average hospital—but to keep others from trying to abuse my powers. It was something I had feared for a while, but wasn't aware of the under-the-radar groups that could have taken interest in me similar to SHIELD. It was set up that only agents with higher level security clearances knew about this little fact. I've learned how to do more with my powers since that incident, but I still face the fear of over-exerting myself to the possible point of death._

 

_Also, I guess I should have put this at the beginning, huh? My name is Kiana, but you can refer to me as Kiki._

 

* * *

 

 

" _Mr. Stark_ ," a voice sounded out, bringing Tony from his thoughts as he sat on one of the couches, deeply focused on whatever he was reading on his phone. He glanced up to look at the figure, a raven haired figure—most likely an agent—with a file tucked under her arm.

"Here's the debriefing for the meeting at two. Please read through all of the pages beforehand," she spoke as she handed the folder to him, "oh, and don't be late." He looked over her as he took the folder, brows arching as he examined her in thought.

"I haven't seen you around before... Are you new?" He looked down at the papers within the folder, only giving it half of his attention at best.

"I've been working here since before the Avengers initiative, _sir_ ," she retorted quickly, turning to take her leave.

"Why haven't I seen you around before then?" he questioned, closing the folder after he finished skimming the paperwork.

"Are you meaning to say that you're familiar with _every_ member of SHIELD?" her brow arched, stopping to turn back to him, sarcasm in her tone as she spoke.

"Not... personally, but I have read over most of the paperwork for what I thought was all the members," he looked up at her, a smirk forming on his lips—knowing he shouldn't have access to that information.

A smile crossed her lips as she gave him the sweetest tone she could muster, "I'm _sorry_ , Mr. Stark, but you'll need a _much_ higher security clearance to read my file—or some of the others for that matter. Now that we have gotten that covered, I'm a rather busy woman, so I should get back to work." She turned back into the direction she was heading, going to what he could only presume was 'back to work'.

"Huh..." he mused quietly to himself, "then I'll just have to obtain this higher level of clearance." His smirk widened, taking her comment as a challenge.

 

_Sometimes I wish I could slap the smirk off of some people's faces, but I really wanted to slap Tony's smirk right off of his face. I've managed to avoid directly interacting with him, but all the other agents were busy or off on a mission... He's just so... ugh. He's so cocky and annoying and thinks he can get anything he wants. I mean, so do most rich people, but I don't have to deal with them._

_Well, he'll be pretty busy for a while so I won't be seeing him anytime soon. I'll just personally make sure someone is keeping an eye on the files, changing the codes until he finally gets bored of trying to get in._

 

* * *

 

 

 

A week had passed since Tony had seen the mysterious agent whom he was unable to find anywhere in the database. By this point, he had even gotten a look into _Director Fury's_ files, so he had become curious as to just how much was being hidden away from him. So, naturally he begun to develop software to break through all the security levels that had apparently been blocking him.

"Hey, Fury," Tony said as he strolled up next to the man, "I want to ask some questions about that one girl who had brought me paperwork last week for the meeting."

" _Plenty_ of people have brought you paperwork, Stark. Why is it you want to know about this one?" Fury didn't bother to look at him, instead still working on whatever was currently on his screen, turning to look at the one on his right.

"Because," he started, pursing his lips together, "I haven't been able to find her file anywhere and I want to know _why_ ~"

"Again," he gave a quick glance at the billionaire, "there are plenty of agents here who fit that specific description. We have quite a number of people whose files are hidden for security reasons... and of course _other reasons_."

Tony hummed to himself for a second, remembering the girl, "This one had black hair about here... Bright blue eyes that just screamed she was full of secrets... Kind of sassy?" He gestured to about where her hair length was, crossing his arms soon after.

"I know _exactly_ who you've been talking about, but that's about all I am willing to tell you, Stark."

He pouted his lips slightly as he realized their conversation was over, not getting any new information from the director. He left and continued his attempts to try and crack through, knowing that there had to be some sort of let up at some point or another.

 

* * *

 

 

Kiana slipped through the door quietly and plopped herself down onto the couch, head resting against the arm with her recently removed jacket shielding her eyes from the light. A dark red headed female closed the door behind her, following the other into the room, sitting in the chair across from the couch while taking a sip from her cup of coffee. There was a brief moment of silence between the two, relishing in the action that they were currently partaking in—relaxing and drinking coffee.

"I'm pretty sure Tony will be getting a warning in the next week or so for obnoxiously trying to hack into the system," Kiana snickered from behind her jacket, stretching her arms up before pulling her sleeves down past her hands again.

"Ew," the other murmured under her breath, "What's he even trying to figure out?"

Kiana sat up, looking over at her as the jacket fell off her face, giving a soft laugh, "Ew? What's ew, Sammy? He's just mad because he doesn't know everything and we've been changing the codes on him. I get it—he's super paranoid, but he doesn't get an all access pass just because of that."

"He smells like booze and cheap entertainment... If you know what I mean," Sammy mumbled, "plus I overheard him telling Bruce one time that I looked like a... 'dead squirrel'—like the kind that's been run over and left on the side of the road. I know he's just mad that I stole his wallet that one time, but it's not my fault he didn't notice it was missing for a couple of days!" A soft groan emitted from her, completely focused on her reason for saying 'ew'.

"Sammy... No... Really? You stole his wallet?" her jaw dropped as she shook her head, "I mean.. Joe-No-Schmo in the street is one thing, I don't approve, but less risky... Why would you steal from " _the_ " Tony Stark?!"

 

They continued discussing Kiana's encounter with Tony, talking about how their security experts were keeping a tight watch on all of the higher level security files. It wasn't until a little later in the afternoon that Kiana got a bit more serious about the discussion regarding the billionaire playboy.

"I am a bit concerned about him, though..." She sighed.

"About what?" Sammy asked, mouth half full of the cake she had begun munching upon. Kiana wasn't entirely sure where she even got the cake from at this point, and wasn't prepared to ask.

"He has a bad habit... of... Well doing stupid things... I've kind of avoided him 'cause he's a jerk, but I do know a good deal about him. He's been... Well, he's been acting differently after incident in New York... I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I just don't think you're able to go through something like that completely unscathed..."

"Maybe he should go to therapy," Sammy suggested, waving her fork around while she spoke.

"I'm fairly certain his pride wouldn't allow him to admit he _needs_ it in the first place. I just.... I dunno, I guess it's because I know what it's like to be close to death? It leaves a hole in you... A sort of **emptiness** that makes you feel scared... You're certain that anything that can go bad, will. Safety is important, but it becomes an all-consuming importance in your life." She sighed, falling back onto the couch. "The more often you're reminded of it—or worse—having other experiences similar to the first can leave you feeling shattered and alone. Tony is way too prideful to admit he feels that way or needs help. It's different when it's physical—broken bone? Just put a cast on it for a couple of weeks. Cuts or bruises? That's nothing... but this is emotional... Emotional damage isn't... Well, it isn't something people often take seriously. I don't think he'd let someone come near if he is experiencing emotional trauma."

Sammy listened to her little tangent, watching as the other scratched her arms nervously and frowned at the red she could see under her sleeve. She stared at her hands quietly, fiddling her thumbs together in quiet contemplation after pushing her sleeves back down. She leaned over to poke the other in the cheek. "You're talking from experience, aren't ya?"

Kiana's eyes widened, blinking at the sudden touch that brought her out of her deep thought. "I... uh... Yeah, sorta..." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders gently, rubbing her arms nervously.

"If you're so concerned, maybe you should try to talk to him?"

"I would... but he's just so... infuriating!! Says whatever he wants, does whatever he wants! If he wasn't such a loud mouth, maybe he wouldn't have had so many issues in life! He needs to learn when to shut his stupid mouth!"

"And I'm _not_ infuriating?" Sammy asked, brow arched as she crossed her arms over her chest.

" **You** need to _stop_ stealing stuff, _**yes**_!! But you're not as annoying as he is," she huffed out her chest, pink flushing softly in her cheeks.

"All he does is poke fun at you... and flirt a little? Just ignore that and maybe you can get past whatever you consider is his... 'annoying-ness'." She rolled her eyes.

"That's not just--!!! Ugh!!" She sighed, giving a small pout towards the other while resting her chin into the palm of her hand and thinking it over. Maybe she was letting her perception of him mask what was actually there? Most likely... "Maybe you're right..."

 

_Sammy has a habit of coming out with a good point here and there... Aside from stealing being useful, of course. She suggested that I try and talk to Tony… What a pain. I would rather not go out of my way, but... I mean, I guess I'd have to if I wanted to try... I'm not sure if he would even bother to listen to me. I'm not even sure why I feel bad about all of this... I barely even know him. I feel so stupid!!_

 

_I guess it's not so weird, though... I've always cared about others... It doesn't help that I see some things in him that I've been... ignoring in myself. It's hard not to gravitate towards people who have or have had similar problems to yourself..._


	2. You're Gonna Get Yourself Killed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiana attempts to comfort Tony and his anxiety, but is shut down rather quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place during and after IM3.

Kiana pulled her hair behind her ear as she stared at the door quietly, sighing and lifting her hand to knock against it anxiously; she wondered if he would even answer. There was a minute or so of silence before she could hear shuffling inside and footsteps towards the door. It opened up to a disheveled Tony Stark, but not in the ‘I just had sex’ way she might have expected. He didn’t look like he had just woken up from a night of fun or the likes, but rather… he looked almost… afraid? Her chest tightened, recognizing the oh so familiar look immediately.

“Hello? Oh… Hi.”

“Kiana.”

“Hm?” he questioned quickly.

“My name is Kiana. Everyone calls me Kiki.”

“Oh… Well, what brings you here, Kiki?” he seemed to straighten himself up a bit as she stood there, brushing through his hair with his fingers and adjusting his shirt so it fit on him a little better.

“I was hoping that maybe I could sit down and talk?” She offered a small smile, fidgeting with the edge of her shirt.

“Sure, but I dunno what you’d wanna talk to  _ me _ about.” He held his arm out, gesturing for her to come inside, letting her walk in first before closing the door. She made her way over to the couch and sat down, patiently waiting for him. Tony put himself down in a chair across from her, leaning forward a bit while resting his hands in his lap.

“So…” she began, extending the length of the sounds for both the s and o.

“So.”

“What’s up?”

That was the dumbest question she could have asked at the current moment in time. It didn’t relate to anything she actually wanted to talk about, let alone give any sort of actual reasoning as to why she came. A heavy sigh heaved from her chest, licking her bottom lip as she struggled to form her thoughts into audible words. Her brows knitted together, opening her mouth a couple of times only to close it once again.

“Do you know what a panic attack is?” she finally managed to get out.

His own brows arched slightly as her eyes met with his, pursing his lips in brief thought, “You mean… like when people start to freak out… and rock back and forth? Screaming or crying kind of thing…?”

“That’s the neurotypical way to talk about it, Tony,” she gave a soft smile, “panic and anxiety attacks are different per person. For instance... some people end up crying uncontrollably, struggling to breathe, shaking, chest tightening, while their thoughts are racing yet not making any sense. While for some… they struggle to move, the world seems like a blur, slurred speech, nothing happened but everything’s wrong... ” Her words held a certain tone to them, swallowing harshly as she avoided eye contact with him.

“That sounds like it’s from personal experience,” he said, his tone a bit softer than his normal snarky one.

She sighed, looking back in his direction, “Yes. I personally experience panic attacks, as well as anxiety attacks. Let me tell you, just the two different emotions cause severely different reactions… The first I described was how I experience a panic attack… while the second is how I experience an anxiety attack...”

He paused, staring down at his hands and taking a minute to think over what she had explained to him. It… sounded so familiar, but different. What she said resonated with him on a level he didn’t expect it to.

“I’m sorry…” he finally responded.

“For what?”

“I’m sorry you’ve had to go through something to cause that…”

“It kind of happens when you experience trauma… One thing that’s caused mine have been near death experiences… So I… I kind of know how you might feel…” she gave an awkward smile. “To be fair, I’m sorry for what you’ve been through… I know you’ve lost a lot and almost died a number of times… Aside from my near death experiences… I’ve had a decent life growing up, but I know no matter how hard you try, mental problems tear you up without hesitation.”

“I see… What’s all this about, though?” he asked, curious to get down to the point. She was here for a reason, but he wanted to know why.

“I guess... I just wanted to let you know that you have someone to talk to when you’re feeling overwhelmed… I’m not a therapist, but I am a good listener.”

“Well,” Tony began, standing up, “I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t need it.  **_If_ ** I do, I’ll keep that in mind.” He extended out his hand, offering to help her up as he added in, “In the meantime, care for lunch?”

“At least you’ll consider it,” she sighed. She reached up and took his offer, pulling herself to her feet. “Lunch sounds great,” she smiled.

  
  


_ I… I tried talking to Tony, but he’s definitely not willing to open up and talk about his problems… not yet, at least… I just hope he realizes he needs to talk to someone about all of this before something stupid happens, since that seems to be a common theme with him… I suppose I’ll have to keep an eye on him for the time being, just to see how he’s faring... _

* * *

 

It was shortly after Tony taunted the Mandarin on television, giving out his home address that he received a call from an unfamiliar number.

“Hello, I don’t remember giving my number out to  _ blocked ID _ .” His tone was snarkier than normal, a little more than annoyed at the current moment.

“Oh shut it with the snarkiness, Tony! Why the  _ hell _ did you give out your address like that?! I’ve already set up a safe house for you and Pepper to go to, and I’ll be sending an agent to come help with picking up your things!” her tone was mostly annoyed, with undertones of concern.

“Don’t even bother,  _ Kiana _ ,” he grunted, clearly annoyed, “I’m not leaving and that’s final.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed, you stupid piece of--” * **_click_ ** * He put his phone on silent, rolling his eyes and continuing his drive home.

 

Kiana glared forward, mouth agape as she was in the midst of talking, anger boiling inside of her veins. She gripped her phone tightly and threw it against the nearby couch, letting out a muffled scream.

“That stupid little… AUGH. I’m gonna kick his snarky little prideful ass from California all the way to New York!!!”

 

_ I haven’t heard from Tony since the phone call, but I’ve been paying close attention to everything revolving around him. Dummy always rushes off when his emotions get the better of him. I just hope that he doesn’t do anything to get Pepper in serious trouble, or anyone else for that matter. I hope he comes to his senses soon… _

* * *

 

“I’ve been getting migraines since I’ve been on these new pills… Do you think I should get that checked out?” Kiana rubbed her forehead, taking a pain reliever with water.

“That depends, is it a serious side effect of the pills?” Sammy mumbled while munching on a strawberry.

“I dunno.”

“You should see if it is, if it isn’t serious I’m sure it’ll go away. If it’s not a side effect at all, you might wanna go in. Strawberry?”

Kiana sighed and took the fruit that had been offered, biting down into half of it as she silently contemplated on what to do. There was a short pause as the two sat in silence, thinking or reading over their own different things.

“What’re the pills for?” Sammy finally piped up again.

“Depression.” She sighed.

“About time. I thought I was going to have to bathe you in alcohol.”

“Shut up,” she rolled her eyes, “I was forced to go on a temporary leave after pushing myself too far mentally. I saw a psychiatrist and I’m now in therapy. I just… never had time before.”

Sammy sat up and shoved another strawberry into Kiana’s mouth, “bullshit. You were just afraid to get help.”

Kiana coughed and struggled to swallow the strawberry, “so are  _ cough _ you!”

“... That’s different.”

“You don’t have to be afraid of him…”

“I’m not afraid! He’s my dad! I have to listen to what he says!”

“Sammy…”

Before Sammy had a chance to respond to her, there was a knock on the door. Kiana sighed and stood up, walking over to the door and opening it. On the other side of it was a messy Tony, not disheveled and stressed out like the last time she saw him.

“Can we talk?” his eyes peered in towards Sammy then back at Kiana, suggesting they go somewhere else.

“Uhm… sure…” she quickly told Sammy that she would be back a bit later, getting a raised eyebrow from her in response. She then turned back towards Tony and walked out the door, closing it behind her and falling him towards somewhere with more privacy. The walk was silent as he led her to another room, Tony flippin on the light and swiftly closing the door and blinds.

“I didn’t know we were on these terms,” she half joked, trying to break through the awkward silence.

“You were right,” he responded rather quickly with a sigh, “what I did was incredibly stupid and I almost lost Pepper. Both you and Pepper wanted me to leave, but I was too stubborn to agree. I-I…”

She gently put a hand on his shoulder, looking up at him with a soft smile, “You didn’t lose Pepper. I think this is just a harsh lesson that needed to be learned. I know you’re never going to be done with the tinkering, but… maybe just take it a step down on the reckless behavior. Use this,” she poked his head, “to reason out this.” She lightly pressed her hand over his heart.

“I guess you’re right… Maybe I should take you guys out for dinner.”

“So Pepper and I can make fun of you?”

He pursed his lips in thought, laughing softly, “Maybe not then.”

“I’m kidding! I dunno about Pepper, but I am always on my best behavior,” she stroke an ‘innocent’ pose causing him to shake his head and laugh.

“Alright, alright. I’ll send someone to pick you up later,” he opened the door of the room and offered for her to exit first. She strode up to the doorway, stumbling a little, Tony catching her before she had a chance to fall.

“You okay?” his brows arched, looking down at her concernedly.

“Yeah… I’m just on some new medication. I always get a little weird when I start something new…”

“Alright… Just make sure you take care of yourself, got it? We’ll need you around if the world needs saving again.” He winked at her, forcing her to stare quietly at him. The twinkle in his eyes made her realize as she gently punched his chest.

“You did  **_not_ ** !”

“I did. You didn’t strike me as British… or blonde for that matter.”

“Oh god, shut up. We’re not talking about that ever again, got it?” She grunted and stood up straight, leaving the room.

“How much can you drink before you get drunk?”

“I don’t drink, Tony, nice try.”

“ **_Really_ ** ? You should try it makes my life a lot more tolerable,” he chuckled as he closed the door behind him. He walked her back to where she was hanging with her friend before messing her hair up before reminding her of when she needed to be ready by to be picked up.

“Yeah, yeah,  _ whatever _ ,  **_dad_ ** ,” she scoffed, stifling a giggle. 

“That kind of talk is saved for the bedroom,  _ so _ ~ unless you want to convince Pepper to try being poly…--”

“Stop. Anyway, go on before I kink shame you.” She held her hands up in an attempt to shoo him.

“So rude, I wouldn’t kink shame you.”

“You’ll never know my kinks, so that’s fine.”

With each response, Tony got a little further down the hallway, until he finally said “Challenge accepted, then!” from the other end of the hall. This only caused her to shake her head, murmuring ‘oh my god’ under her breath. She went back in the room to find three pizzas on the table with one open next to Sammy, a few slices missing.

“Who is buying this time?” she sighed, knowing that she probably spent around thirty to forty bucks. Sammy looked at the card, squinting to read it.

“Robert Smith. Remember when I went to the store yesterday? Yeaahh.”

“You make a decent amount of money… I have no idea why you feel the need to steal.”

“Iunno,” she shrugged, “Two of those are for you, though. Some for now and some for later. I got your favorite~”

“That’s like four meals for me.”

“Then some for breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Anyway, I heard you’re going on a date with Tony?” Her brows arched, munching on the slice that was currently in her hand. “You said you couldn’t stand him.”

“Ohmahgod. First of all, how dare you. Secondly, he’s taken. Third of all, he’s old enough to be my dad. Fourth, well… he’s not a  _ terrible _ person…”

“Hey, ya never know. I know a lot of people younger than you who wanna do all sorts of crazy things with Thor, who’s even older than Tony.”

“We’re through with this conversation, Sammy,” before the other could respond, a different piece of pizza floated into her mouth and successfully stopped her from talking for a short while.


	3. That'd be weird!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony convinces Kiana to take a drink and ends up finding something a bit more personal out of the agent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after Iron Man 3 but before Captain America: Winter Soldier.  
> Also, warnings: Some cursing, Mentions of drinking, Drunken character, Self harm mentions, abandonment

_ -buzz buzz, buzz buzz- _

“Hello?”

“Is this Miss Mariveil? Mr. Stark sent me.”

“Okay, I’ll be down in a second.”

Kiana shoved her wallet and keys into her right pocket, slipping her phone into her left as she walked out the door. She zoomed down the stairs and out the building, shaking her head at the limo waiting outside. ‘ _ It’s not like it’s that big of a deal, jeez. _ ’ She felt her phone buzzing  after she got in and as the limo pulled out onto the street, accepting the call and pressing it to her ear.

“Where  _ are _ you? Everyone else is here on time,” she could hear the sarcasm in Tony’s voice as he spoke.

“Sorry, looks like the ass who booked me a  _ limo _ decided to call pretty last minute. Not my fault. Also, you didn’t give me a dress code, so I hope you don’t mind super casual.”

“ _ Super _ , huh? I didn’t know it was my birthday,” he chuckled on the other end.

“Maybe when you die and go to heaven, Tony,” she retorted sternly, trying to stifle a giggle.

“Ouch. So mean,” he sniffled, laughing before finishing, “okay okay. You should get here in about ten minutes. I’ll see you when you get here.”

* * *

 

Kiana strolled into the restaurant, shaking her head about how out of place she looked compared to the other people dressed to the nines. She was escorted to where Tony was sitting, seeing Rhodes and Pepper sitting with him as well.

“I didn’t know I’d be  _ this _ underdressed,” she scoffed as she sat down at the empty seat between Rhodes and Pepper.

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s never been good at forewarning,” Pepper joked, rolling her eyes at Tony.

Tony laughed in response, waving his hand, “It’s not  _ my _ fault that no one else can read my mind.”

“I don’t think anyone wants to be in there,” Rhodes retorted, shaking his head.

The group talked as they ate, sharing jokes, making new ones, and telling embarrassing stories. Pepper was impressed with Kiana’s quick responses to Tony’s snarky retorts and Rhodes enjoyed her kicking him down a notch when he went a little overboard. About halfway through dinner, a drink was offered to Kiana.

“Oh, no. I don’t drink.”

“Nat told me you decided that after she handed you some drinks to try. I know what she drinks and based off your drink preferences, doesn’t seem anywhere near your type.”

“... Okay, you got me there. If I try it, will you leave me alone?” All she got in response was a grin and a raise of his glass. She rolled her eyes and raised the glass, pretending to toast before taking a sip.

* * *

 

Dinner started around nine, surprisingly early for Tony, and didn’t end until about one thirty in the wee hours of the morning. Tony was helping the poor drunken agent walk out the door, telling Rhodey to go with Pepper and he’d help Kiana get back.

“If something happens, I’ll bring the light weight back home with me.” He pulled her into the car, making sure she was comfortable before sliding in next to her.

“Tony... Did you know… * _ hic _ * that a surprisingly large amount of people want you to be their daddy? N-not… * _ hic _ * in the pervy way! Like… they hope they’re secretly your kids from some random fuck you’ve probably had.”

He chuckled, watching her flail her arms about as she talked, “do you?”

“ _ Noooooooooo _ , no, no, no. That’d be weird!” she exclaimed, putting her hands on his shoulders.

“Why would it be weird?” he asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

“Because,” she whined, “I love m’dad, but… I can be closer and more open with you than I could wiff him. I feel like I could tell you anythin’ and you wouldn’t judge me… I would never judge you, either~ I mean, you used to piss me off because I thought you were nothing but a cocky son of a bitch who didn’t care about anyone but himself… * _ hic _ *... What was I sayin’? … ... Oh, right~ You care a lot more than you’d like to let on and that’s… that’s nice. I know life’s been pretty hard on ya, but I think yer doin a pretty great job out there in the world.”

He couldn’t help but give a smile down towards her as she pressed her forehead against his shoulder after drunkenly moving about during her… ‘speech’. He gently pushed her back into her seat, moving the strands of hair from her face once more.

“Also!! I probably won’t remember much… I barely remember what’s happened tonight… so don’t hold it against me or I might get mad. My brain is saying I can trust you, so don’t take advantage of that!!”

“Alright, I won’t,” he couldn’t stifle his laugh as his brows raised.

“So… I dunno why I have this, but… if I use it too much, I could die. That happened when I was in college. There was this explosion… the ceiling started collapsing in the cafeteria… I… I remember the screaming being unbearable… All I could do was focus on the chunks of ceiling… I struggled... but I kept it up for as long as I could. I looked around to see the other students were gone and I… I let go... I couldn’t handle holding it up any longer and it all came crashing around me. Next thing I knew…  _ *hic* _ ... I was being told that SHIELD was going to take me in to get me healed up properly and for my protection…”

“How did you hold it up?” He tilted his head, brows knitted with curiosity.

“Like * _ hic _ * this!” she yelled out, looking over towards the mini bar, cooing out, “come here~” A bottle floated up from its spot, moving towards the two on the other side of the vehicle. She grabbed it, threatening to open it up. He grabbed it from her and shook his head.

“No more for you tonight, but I think you might be better spending the weekend at my place.” He let the driver know to head back to the tower instead of her apartment.

“Don’t tell me I told you. I already have anxiety among other things. * _ hic _ * Wait! You read my file! You should know!”

“Yes, I did,” he gently held her hand, using his free hand to slide her sweater up her arm. His thoughts could only return to when he actually got the chance to look over her file.

* * *

 

_ Tony grinned triumphantly as he looked at his computer screen. He had managed to sneak through every security level that SHIELD had, plus rummaging through some paper files just in case that was the ‘security’ she was talking about. He clicked on the file labeled ‘AGENT MARIVEIL’ and opened it up. _

 

**_FILE: AGENT KIANA LI MARIVEIL_ **

 

**_NAME:_ ** _ Kiana Alexa Evans _

**_DATE OF BIRTH:_ ** _ December 1st _

**_PLACE OF BIRTH:_ ** _ London, England _

**_CURRENT LOCATION:_ ** _ [REDACTED] _

**_PREVIOUS LOCATION:_ ** _ New York City, New York _

**_ETHNIC BACKGROUND:_ ** _ English, German, Irish, Italian _

**_OCCUPATION:_ ** _ [REDACTED] at SHIELD _

**_HEIGHT:_ ** _ 5'3" _

**_WEIGHT:_ ** _ 135 lbs. _

**_EYE COLOR:_ ** _ Cyan _

**_HAIR COLOR:_ ** _ Blonde (Natural); Black (dyed) _

**_EYES:_ ** _ Contacts of [REDACTED] prescription, glasses _

**_FEATURES:_ ** _ Scars all over body, focused heavily on underside of arms _

**_EDUCATION:_ ** _ Some college; experience in four separate degrees _

**_ABILITIES:_ ** _ [REDACTED] _

  
  


**_PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION:_ **

 

**_NICKNAMES:_** _Kiki (preferred)_ _, Kia, Alex, Lex, Lexa, Lexi_

**_SEXUALITY:_ ** _ Bisexual (questioning if "poly" or "pan"-sexual) _

**_OTHER FEATURES:_ ** _ Freckles (embarrassed about), heart shaped pendant with picture of agent with parents _

**_MANNERISMS/QUIRKS:_ ** _ Agent followed the childhood lesson 'treat others how you wish to be treated' rather strictly. She never talks down to anyone above her, yet she has not been afraid to argue with agents of her same level. She will defend herself if another agent is being crude or harassing her. She has commented that some people would "piss" her off if she were in presence of. (This comment particularly coming up after the Avengers initiative, though not directly said, implying Mr. Tony Stark.) _

_ A noticeable quirk she has is moving her hands a lot when she speaks, or pulling her hair or "playing with it" when she becomes anxious. She has a particular habit to downplay many of her symptoms. _

**_DIAGNOSIS:_ ** _ Major Depressive Disorder (Depression, Severe), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Anxiety), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) related to her powers, Paranoia focused around being taken advantage of for her powers _

 

  1. **_[REDACTED]:_** _Kiana, could you tell me what your earliest memory is?_



**_KIANA:_ ** _ I remember... mum and I were playing games together in the backyard... I believe it was in the sandbox. There was a pause and she looked nervous, but said she wanted to tell me something important. I remember her saying, voice breaking as her eyes grew sad, 'Sweetheart, I know this may be hard to understand... but your father and I thought we should tell you.' She sighed and continued, 'We're... We're not your biological parents... I found you at the hospital that I work at... and... seeing as no one was there saying you were theirs... We took you in. I understand if you're upset-' her tone was desperate, knowing she could be breaking a child by saying what she did. I cut her off before she could finish, though, grabbing her hand within my tiny ones and responding, 'You'll always be my mummy! No matter what, you're my mummy and nothing can change that! Same with daddy!' She cried, which at the time confused me, but they were happy tears. I still feel the same way now as I did that day. _

 

  1. **_[REDACTED]:_** _What would you consider your saddest memory?_



**_KIANA:_ ** _ I... wouldn't personally call it the saddest, but rather the most unsettling. I was talking to my mum when I was a teenager... I decided to ask her if she knew anything about my birth parents. I didn't particularly care, I think I was just looking to fill in the gaps that were missing... It was then she told me what she had found out. There was a couple who wanted a baby, but due to an accident the wife couldn't get pregnant. They made an agreement with a woman, who was in need of money, to get pregnant and carry their baby. When all was said and done, they were going to buy her a house as a final compensation. It was a mere six months later that the couple divorced. It was heated and rather vile divorce, so much so that the woman carrying the child lost contact with both of them after getting a hefty sized check. It was too late for her to get an abortion safely, on either end, and so she carried the baby out to term. She went to the hospital and had the baby, but left before they could get any information on her or what the baby would be named. A baby girl was left, nameless with no family at the hospital. It was at this point, my mum who worked an early shift, came in and found the baby all alone with no one to claim it. She adopted the baby and raised it. That baby was obviously me, but... I can't imagine what would have happened if I didn't end up with my parents. I am angry, reasonably, as any child would be. It shows that they never truly cared about me, and of course it shows how unwanted I really was in their eyes. _

 

**_PREFERENCES:_ **

**_CAFFEINE:_ ** _ Coffee with creamer and milk _

**_DRINK:_ ** _ Sprite, Raspberry infused water,  _

**_CAR:_ ** _ A functioning one _

**_VACATION:_ ** _ Go to hometown or Egypt _

**_HOBBIES:_ ** _ Reading, Hiking in the rain, Writing, Learning, Martial Arts, Sparring, Swimming _

**_FAVORITES:_ ** _ Candle scents-fruity or the smell of the ocean, warmth of the sun, the breeze pulling against my hair _

**_FOOD:_ ** _ Zebra cakes. "Buy me a pack of zebra cakes and you'll have my attention for at least a day." _

**_MEALS:_ ** _ Sweet and sour chicken, fish and chips with cheesy broccoli, or a fried rice with sauteed chicken _

**_ANIMAL:_ ** _ Felines; Snow leopards in particular. _

 

**_ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:_ **

_ It is apparent that many of Agent Mariveil's scars along her arms have been self inflicted. Based off of her last physical, she is still self harming. I have devised a plan to attempt to ease her depression if only to help with that aspect of it. _

_ She also appears to be isolating herself and disallowing herself to get close to others. It is my theory that it is due to fear of using her powers to save those she is close to and thus potentially putting herself at risk. _

  
  


_ It should also be worth noting that her abilities can become of great use if she can manage them without exerting herself. _

_ In her most recent physical, a scan of her brain seems to show some form of blockage. Further study needs to be conducted into what it is effecting and how serious it is. _

  
  


_ He frowned slightly. There was still some information that he wanted, but this was more than enough for now. He couldn’t help but feel a little worse now after seeing how worried she was about him and opening up to him about something that made her feel so vulnerable. He would try to do something to help her if only to give her some ease of mind. _

* * *

 

He frowned as he looked over the nasty red lines and scabs that littered her skin, thumb gently running along the back of her hand. He blinked as he heard soft snoring, looking over to see her resting against him, passed out. He took this time to further examine her arm, unhappy with how recent some of the wounds were. He could tell how hard she was struggling with her depression and attempting to stop herself from the harm. There were clear signs that she was cleaning her arms, probably due to being inside of the heavy SHIELD uniform most of the time. He gently pulled the sleeve back down and rested his head against the top of hers.

“Oh, what are we going to do with you, Kiki?” His brain was already whirring with ideas as the gears turned, thinking over multiple things at once during the quiet drive back to the tower. Once there, he picked her up and carried her to an empty bedroom before lying her down on it. He grabbed a bottle of water and put it next to the bed with some pain relievers, making sure the room was cool enough for her not to overheat under the blankets.Before he pulled the blankets over her, he softly said ‘Goodnight, Kiki’.

“Don’t leave…” she murmured, voice cracking in her half-asleep daze as she grabbed his hand. He blinked, but decided that it wouldn’t hurt to stay with her. He knew she’d freak out, but at the same time would feel better seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar environment.

“I  _ am _ making fun of you for this, though,” he teased and pulled the blankets up. He only got ‘shush’ in response, making him chuckle.


	4. You Don't Have to do it Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper and Tony find out about Kiana's self harming and promise to help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happens after Iron Man 3 and before Captain America Winter Soldier.

Kiana hissed at the rays of sunlight interrupting her sleep by shining directly into her eyes. She hid her head under the blankets and curled up closer to the object she was cuddling, thankful for the darkness. She tried to think of what had happened the night before, but all she could focus on was how much her head hurt which caused her to whimper and whine softly in pain. Suddenly there was a bottle of water and pain relievers within her sights, somehow showing up under the blanket. She didn’t have time to process her questions on how they magically appeared, quickly taking the pills and downing the entire bottle of water.

It was half an hour later before she felt comfortable enough to leave her position, slowly peeling back the blankets to the unwelcoming light. The pain was still there, but not as prominent as it had been just thirty minutes before. It was at this point she could see where she was, confused by the room, but even more confused to see what it was she had been cuddling.

“T-Tony!! You shouldn’t sleep in a suit! You’ll ruin it!” She wasn’t sure why that was her first thought upon seeing the fully clothed man next to her. He quietly shushed her, pulling her close to him again before hiding the two of them away from the light.

“You should let the pills kick in a little more before trying to jump out of bed.”

“O-okay…” she blinked, letting herself relax again in the bed. She had no idea what was going on, but she didn’t want to argue when her head felt like there was holes being drilled into it. It didn’t take long before a few minutes of cuddling became another hour of sleep.

* * *

 

“Morning, sunshine,” Tony chuckled as he watched Kiana lift her head up after an hour nap. She looked up to him, eyes still filled with sleep.

“Good morning…”

“I think you should get up now and eat something. You had a pretty nasty hangover this morning.” He gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb, waiting for a response from the tired female.

“Are you buying?” was the only thing he got out of her, causing him to chuckle.

“Yeah, and you can borrow some of my clothes. The pants might be a little long on you, so just be careful when walking.” He helped her sit up, adjusting the pillows so that she could relax while he got her the clothes. Out in the kitchen, he ran into Pepper drinking her morning coffee.

“Is she doing okay?” she asked, concern in her voice.

“Yeah, she just needs something to eat now. I’m gonna get her a change of clothes so she feels a little more comfortable.”

“You are  _ not _ giving her a pair of your pants. I’ve got some shorts she can wear.” Pepper quickly got up from her seat to head to get said shorts.

“Hey,” he chuckled, “what’s wrong with my pants? I warned her they might be a little long.”

“That’s one issue, yeah, but who knows where your pants have been,” she called out from the hallway.

“Hey!” Tony scoffed jokingly, following her, “my pants have been  _ washed _ recently, excuse you.”

“That  _ does not _ mean they’re clean,” Pepper giggled shaking her head quickly, picking up a pair of shorts out of her drawer.

“Rude. Anyway, I think one of my shirts would probably fit better than yours.” At that Tony obnoxiously gestured as if he had breasts. She just quietly shook her head, walking into the closet to grab a clean shirt for Kiana. She poked his shoulder with her finger, looking at him sternly.

“You go get food and I’ll get these to Kiki. Don’t need you trying to perv on her,” she turned and walked towards the room the other was in, leaving him to figuring out what he was getting.

“So cold. You know I wouldn’t~” he called out in response, pulling out his phone to look at different options.

Pepper made her way into the room, looking at a bed headed, still sleepy Kiana leaning against the pillow pile that Tony had put together for her.

“Hey, hun…” she kept her voice low as to not worsen whatever lingering head pain that she may have had.

“Huh?” she exclaimed, mildly startled as she sat up to give attention to the new face. “Oh, hey Pepper… What’s up?”

“I got you some clothes. Tony’s ordering some food for you as we speak. You doing okay?” She put the new set of clothes in front of her, letting her take the time she needed to get the motivation to get dressed.

“Thanks.” She took the clothes and slowly started changing, lazily tossing her dirty clothes onto the bed. She thought over what Pepper asked, pursing her lips in thought. “I’m fine… Just a little hungry… I barely remember what happened last night…”

“You got drunk, hun. Tony went to take you home, but he decided you’d be better off staying here.” Pepper couldn’t help but look down at the other’s arms, seeing the full extent of damage that Tony had gotten a quick glimpse at the night before. She didn’t want to upset her, so she looked at the large scar along her stomach. “Where did you get that from?”

“Huh?” she asked, looking down at it, “oh… apparently when the explosion happened at the college I was at. I got pretty banged up from that event… I was in the hospital for at least a month recovering.”

“I’m so sorry…” she quickly said, frowning, “That must have been pretty harsh to deal with.”

“That’s when SHIELD got me. I was in the regular hospital for about a week or so… Still, recovering with them for another three weeks can tell you how bad it was. I probably would have been in the hospital for two months if I didn’t get picked up.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay now,” she looked at the shirt she had given her, realizing that it was short sleeved and might make her uncomfortable. “Oh gosh, I think that one’s dirty. I’m sorry! I’ll go get you another one, okay?” Kiana tilted her head a bit, but nodded quietly, pulling the blanket above her chest so she could walk out of the door. She went out and quickly closed the door behind her, walking back to Tony’s room.

“Something wrong? I ordered the food. It should take them another five to ten minutes to get here,” Tony told her, brows raised at the look on her face.

“Have you seen her arms, Tony? They’re covered in cuts…” she frowned, now digging through his clothes to try to find a long sleeve shirt.

“Yeah,” he sighed, leaning against the door frame, “She was diagnosed with severe depression. She’s on some antidepressants, but I’m not sure how well they’re working…”

“Oh jeez,” she sighed, finally getting one she thought the other might like, “Is there anything we can do?”

“Just try to be there for her, I guess. We can’t force her to talk about it if she’s not comfortable.”

“You’re right… I just… feel bad for her. Poor thing has scars all over her body, too…”

“Oh, yeah… she told me about the accident at her college. She’s lucky that she didn’t die that day,” he replied, lifting himself from the door frame to walk back with her. She could only frown in response, unsure of how to word her sorrow for the situation. She slipped back into the room and handed her the shirt, smiling softly.

“Here, this one’s clean.”

“...” Kiana pulled the shirt over her head, sliding her arms through the sleeves as she noticed they went well beyond her hands. She stared silently at where her hands were, soon quietly asking, “You saw them, didn’t you?”

She was at a loss for words from how blunt her question was, not wanting to upset her when she saw them before, but now she knew she couldn’t lie to the poor girl. She sighed, “Yes. I did.”

She felt her chest tighten as she bundled the extra fabric in her hands, squeezing tightly. “I know it's pretty stupid… I've tried to stop… I got on pills and I'm in therapy… It's… it's just nothing has worked and I feel so stupid… like I'm a huge disappointment and a failure…” Her eyes stung as she tried to hold back her tears, wiping her face with her hand.

“Sweetie… you're not a failure. Sometimes you can't fix things all on your own,” she reached over and grabbed her hands, smiling at her.

“But… I'm going to therapy… I've been doing all the self help they've taught me… none of it has helped…” she burst out into full tears, shaking slightly as she did. Pepper pulled her into a hug, running her hand through her hair.

“Sometimes you just need a little outside support. Do you have anyone you could talk to about this?”

“Nat’s busy… Clint has his own problems… Sammy… I'm still trying to convince her that her dad is an abusive fuck… I don't want to bother my parents…”

Just then Tony walked into the room, about to tell them that the food he ordered had arrived. He blinked at the scene before walking over to the bed.

“I think someone needs a Tony hug,” he said as he sat down next to Kiana, pulling her into a hug. Pepper let him as she held her hands again, rubbing her thumb gently along the back of them.

“If you need someone to talk to, I'm willing to anytime you need it, okay?” she smiled at her, lightly squeezing her hands for reassurance.

“Same here. Missing half the conversation, but I'm sure Pepper will fill me in later.” He made sure his hug was tight and secure, but not too overwhelming. She sniffed, leaning into Tony’s hug, letting out the rest of her sobs that were built up inside of her. The couple made sure to make her as comfortable as they could until she felt a bit better.


	5. Look at you!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiana takes life a bit slow as she relaxes with different people in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after Captain America Winter Soldier.  
> Warnings: Some cursing, self harm mentions, depressive break down

_ Wow, it's been forever since I've written in here… So, uh… Tony is fine and well, despite his stupidity. I've been spending a lot of time with them lately. Tony told me that I had drunkenly showed off my powers… I was pretty mad and upset when I found out, but he insisted on trying to develop something so that I could use my powers without exhausting myself… I'm not sure how that's going to work out, but I'm willing to try it. _

 

* * *

 

 

“Nat… I don't have anywhere to go to… I've lived here since I started…” Kiana whimpered, tears streaming down her face. Natasha pulled her into a hug, gently petting her as she cried.

“Why don't you ask Tony? I haven't seen you happier in the longest time since you've been hanging out with him and Pepper.” She smiled down at her, pulling out a napkin to wipe the tears from her face.

“But everyone's going to find out about my powers! I… I…” she began to hyperventilate as she struggled to talk, gripping the other tightly.

“Shhh, sweetie. I deleted everything about you and Sammy from the files. I know how much it means to both of you. I would never let anyone put you in harms way,” she squeezed her tightly, trying to help her calm down from her slight panic attack.

“What about Sammy?! I… I can't let her go back to-” She pressed her forefinger against her lips, pulling her head down to rest on her chest and gently petting her again.

“I made some arrangements. She's going to be Bruce’s assistant until she can get on her own two feet. So, if Tony lets you move in, then I'm sure you'll run into her every now and again.” Kiana relaxed into the hug as she said that, closing her eyes and mouthing out ‘Thank you’.

 

The incident between Kiana and Natasha happened shortly after the Winter Soldier started appearing. It was during this incident that Natasha and Steve found out that members of HYDRA were in the deeper levels of SHIELD. Natasha had gotten into the files and released them to the public, exposing HYDRA, but not before making sure that a select few were deleted from the database. It was shortly after her talk with Nat, that Kiana found herself looking for Tony or Pepper back at the tower.

“Tony…?” she called out, heading towards his lab after not finding him or Pepper in any of their usual spots.

_ “Sir, Miss Mariveil is currently looking for you.”  _ Jarvis spoke, causing Tony to hit his head as he tried to sit up from under a desk.

“Fuck,” he hissed, “where is she?”

“ _ She is on her way to the lab, sir.” _

“Thanks,” he murmured as he got up, rubbing his head. He then met her in the hallway before she got all the way to the lab. “Hey, what's up?”

“Hi… um…” she licked her lips, twirling her hair between her fingers while avoiding eye contact. “W-would it be possible… to stay here for a while? U-until I can get my own place!”

He blinked, realizing why she asking him, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Sweetheart, you can stay here as long as you need to. Don't feel  **_pressured_ ** to find a place, but if you want to, you can.”

“Thanks,” she smiled up at him, leaning against him.

“Let's go set up your room, then. I'll buy your furniture.”

“Y-you don't have-” she was stopped by a finger against her lips.

“I want to.”

* * *

 

It was a month later and Kiana was adjusting fairly well in her new environment, helping Tony with his odd experiments and keeping him company when he struggled with insomnia. She helped Pepper with slight cleaning, knowing that there was someone who came in and cleaned, but liking to keep it decently well kept. She could only handle so much mess before she felt a need to clean, so she understood why Pepper needed to have it semi-tidied up. The two have also been keeping an eye on her, at first checking her arms daily to see if she had relapsed or not, but about halfway through the month lowering it to about twice a week.

“Kiki!” Tony shouted as he ran up to her, grabbing her hand. “Come on, I have something to show you!” Her eyes widened as he dragged her down into his workshop, leaving her utterly confused and unable to quite say no. Once they arrived, he let go of her hand and pulled a cloth off of whatever it was he wanted to show her. In front of her was what looked like a black dress with a cyan design along it and matching knee-high boots. It was sleeveless, a strip of material on either side keeping it up at the shoulders, and ended about mid-thigh length, maybe knee. It was hard for her to tell without a height comparison. Upon further inspection, she could see that the black part of the attire was a sturdy leather, while the cyan seemed to resemble wiring of some sort.

“Try it on!”

“... You made this for me?” her brows arched as she crossed her arms.

“...  _ Yes _ . I told you I was making something for you. I figured a whole body suit wouldn’t be your style. I purposely left it sleeveless so that your arms wouldn’t get irritated. To make up for lack of coverage on your legs, I made the shoes boots.  _ So, _ try it on!”

She pursed her lips, staring over the outfit before giving a sigh and letting Tony take it off the mannequin and taking it from him. She disappeared into another room to change, slipping out of her clothes and into the dress he had made for her. It ended a bit lower than mid-thigh so when she pulled on the boots, there was barely any space from the knee-high boots and the bottom of the dress. She walked out the room, going back to the workshop to show Tony how it looked on her.

“That looks  **_really_ ** good on you. I was worried about how the dress might fit. Anyway, now the real experiment begins,” a grin spread on his lips. “I want you to use your powers to lift up this machine.”

“Tony… That's really-”

“Shhh. Just try it.”

Her brows furrowed slightly, hoping he knew what he was doing or she was going to punch him later. From everything she had known about her powers, the weight of the machine was a little heavier than she could handle. She had no idea what the ‘suit' he designed did, so she wasn't quite sure on what might happen. After taking a deep breath, she lifted her hands up in an attempt to lift the heavy object with her powers. She managed to get it about an inch off the ground before a loud thud sounded, crashing back onto the floor. Tony quickly grabbed her before she fell back, getting her in the nearby chair.

“Okay, so not quite the percentage boost I was hoping for… but thankfully the suit recorded the data so I can work on fixing it up. Sorry,” he apologized, not wanting for her to put as much stress on her body as she had done.

“It's okay… Can we try something smaller next time?”

“Of course,” he smiled and gently kissed the top of her head, “just take it easy for now and lemme know if you need anything.”

“Probably a nap… but as soon as I have enough focus and strength to get out of the suit,” she mumbled, leaning her head against the chair with her eyes closed tightly.

* * *

 

Pepper sat with Kiana as the two worked on folding laundry together. They both agreed to have a big laundry day once a week so they don't need to think about it until the next laundry day. It made it easier on them so that they could focus on other things during the other days, especially since Kiana needed to rest every now again after testing the suit. She had tested the suit two different times in the past few weeks; one time was far too high percentage wise and caused the machine to fly through the ceiling, while the other time was just a bit higher than the first so it didn't wear down on her as heavily, but did exhaust her.

“Tony isn't pushing you too far, is he? He stops when you tell him to, right?” she asked, brows slightly furrowed with concern.

“Yeah, he's been pretty good about it. He helps me to bed and usually makes sure I'm eating periodically and making me extra comfortable on days we do tests.”

“That's good! I get worried when you do, but I'm usually out those days… so I never know until I get home.” she sighed, folding the shirt in her hands.

“It's fine. Tony’s been a great care-taker when I've been down, so don't worry so much. I'm sure one day you'll be there to help when I need it.” she smiled at her, helping place the clean and folded laundry into the basket. They dropped off Tony’s clothes first, hanging up and putting things in the drawers.

“Hey, I was thinking maybe we could have a spa day? I dunno if that's really your thing, but I figure after these past few weeks you deserve a day of relaxation.”

“Um… I've never really done the whole  _ spa _ thing, but I'm willing to try it out.”  she gave a half smile, shrugging her shoulders.

“Alright, I'll make reservations for tomorrow, then. I’ll also warn Tony, so he doesn’t freak out and think we’ve been kidnapped,” she giggled.

* * *

 

“You're wearing short sleeved shirts again,” Sammy said with a soft smile. Tony and Bruce were currently working together as Sammy and Kiana watched off from the side.

“Yeah… It hasn't been easy, but they've been helping a lot. I see your resentment for Bruce has disappeared a little.”

“Shush,” she laughed, shaking her head, “he's… I'm glad Nat put me here. It's helped me, too.”

“Maybe you should join Pepper and I next time we go to the spa.”

“You're going to the spa now?” her brows arched.

“Yeah… It's actually helped a lot with relaxing. I still spar, practice my martial arts, and swim. It's just nice to sit down and get pampered now and again.” she shrugged her shoulders, watching as the two boys talked.

“Maybe I’ll join you guys. Bruce keeps insisting I take a day off, but I don’t have anywhere to go really. I mean, he’s probably only doing it because he wants some alone time, but I… I just want to lay low for a while longer… I’m sure my dad’s trying to figure out where I am… and… I don’t want to be forced to go home…”

Kiana moved closer to Sammy, pulling her into a tight hug and gently rubbed her back.

“We have a great support system. I don’t think anyone would let that happen. I know I wouldn’t ever, and Nat…” she blinked, thinking about what the redhead would do.  _ ‘Nat would probably murder all of her family…’  _ “Nevermind what, but Nat would certainly help!” she waved her hand nervously, not wanting to bring any more graphic thoughts into the other’s mind.

“Thanks, Kiki… That means a lot.”

“Squirrel--” Tony shouted out, beginning to call her ‘squirrel girl’, before he felt a tug on the collar of his shirt. He cleared his throat, “Uh… Sandra!” Tug. “T-tammy?” Tug. “S-sammy! That’s right! I knew her name. Uh… Sammy! We need something to drink.”

Sammy couldn’t stifle her laugh as she watched Tony struggle with her name, being pulled forward by seemingly nothing tugging on his collar. His brows knitted together as she walked away, still laughing. He walked over and pinched the other female’s cheek.

“What was that all about?!”

“You shouldn’t call people nicknames they don’t like,” she retorted through giggles, grabbing his hand and removing it from her cheek.

“You shouldn’t try to choke me unless we’re in the bedroom,  _ dear _ .”

“I wasn’t choking you~” she chimed, batting her eyelashes, “I was just tugging on your shirt a little.”

“If you wanted my shirt off,” he smirked, winking at her, “all you had to do was ask.” He started pulling his shirt up, laughing when he felt her pull it back down, a faint blush on her cheeks.

“You are now banned from taking your shirt off in front of me.”

“Aww, come on~” he laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder, “don’t be like that.”

She sucked air through her teeth, making something akin to a ‘tch’ noise, “You deserve that.”

“Seconded.” Sammy added in, shoving a drink in his face.

“You don’t even know what happened!” he pouted, taking the drink.

“Don’t need to. I trust Kiki’s judgement.”

The real ‘argument’ began when the three of them heard Bruce snicker at the situation, just loud enough for them to hear him. That’s when Tony got really pouty.

* * *

 

“Look at  _ you _ !” Clint said as he hugged Kiana tightly, picking her up and swinging her around once.

“What’s that supposed to mean!” she giggled in response, arguing about not making her dizzy  _ again _ .

“I was worried when Nat told me you’d be staying with Stark, but you look like you’ve been doing a hell of a lot better since the last time I saw you.” He ruffled her hair and pulled her to sit at the table nearby, handing her one of the bags he had been holding. She looked inside, pulling out sweet and sour chicken over rice.

“ _ Aw _ , you remembered my favorite. Anyway, it’s been a lot easier than I expected it to be, especially with Pepper there. Sammy’s there too, but with Bruce.” She opened up the food and started eating, watching as he began eating the food he had gotten for himself.

“Yeah, she told me about that too. I’m glad to see your arms are healing up nicely…  _ finally _ . You know you could’ve come to Nat, Sammy, or I at anytime, right?” he asked, gently pinching her cheek.

“I know… I just… I didn’t want to bother you guys…”

“You’re not a bother,” he retorted quickly, pinching both cheeks.

“ _Oww!_ _Stoooppp!_ I get the point _!_ Anyway…” she murmured, rubbing her cheeks, “I am really glad to see you again. It feels like it’s been forever.”

“Yeah…” he sighed, “a lot has happened since then. Everytime we turn around seems like something else is being blown up, huh? The world’s seen simpler days… Also… do they know about your?” His brow arched in concern, not wanting to fully finish his sentence as they were in public.

“Yeah… Tony read my file and I told Pepper. I’m sure Bruce picked up on it, since I mess with Tony all the time. I’m not sure if Happy knows, though… They’ve been pretty cool about it all, though. I’m thankful for that. Sammy’s been doing a lot better, too. I think Bruce has helped her out a lot more than she would like to admit,” she giggled.

“That’s good to know. She can be thick headed at times, but then again so can you.” He poked her forehead lightly, causing a groan from her. “Just keep an eye out for yourself, okay? Don’t let anyone overwhelm you and do what you need to in order to keep yourself up. I don’t want to see you falling back down again.”

* * *

 

“ _ Sir, Miss Mariveil has disabled the cameras in her room. I believe something may be wrong, _ ” Jarvis alerted Tony. His brow arched as he stood up, placing whatever he had been working on down on the nearby table. He made his way up to her room, brain running through every possibility of why she might have done it. He put his hand onto the door, jiggling the knob to find out that it was locked.

“I don’t have time for this,” he grumbled as he pulled out a screwdriver, working as quickly as he could to open the door knob, managing to have what he needed all right in his pocket. He was thankful that he was tinkering before this. He swung the door open and flipped the light on, eyes darting around the room before seeing a huddled figure covered in black in the corner of the room. He quickly made his way over to her, pulling the blanket down so he could see her face.

“Kiki? What’s wrong?” He looked over her face, noticing her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

“I…” she coughed out, voice shaky as it was clear she had been crying for a while. “I’m…. I’m sorry…”

“Sorry for what, sweetie? What happened?” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest and gently rocking her back and forth.

“...” She removed some of the blanket, showing him the knife she had been holding onto; her knuckles were white with how tight she had been gripping it. He took it from her and placed it on the other side of him, going back to holding her.

“Did you…?” She shook her head in response.

“I… I almost did…”

“It’s okay, I’m here now.” he said softly, rubbing her shoulder and trying to sooth her from her episode. He stayed with her for the rest of the day, trying to help her avoid flaring up in another attack.


	6. You're Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper gets angry with Tony after he's not only continued making suits, but also made one for Kiana. Things become even crazier when Tony attempts to protect the world by creating Ultron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place just before and during Avengers: Age of Ultron
> 
> Warnings: Some cursing, medication and therapy mentions, a heated argument, relapse mention, choking briefly, fighting

“Pep’s gonna flip when she finds out you've been tinkering and making suits again.”

Tony groaned under his breath, leaning over and pinching the tip of her nose lightly. “You know it helps with my anxiety.”

“So would some pills, or maybe therapy,” Kiana retorted, pushing his hand away and rubbing her nose.

“You know I don't have time for that,” he grumbled, going back to his work. “Besides, I'm close to finishing your suit. Would you prefer a whole head mask, just over the eyes, or goggles?”

“I'm sure she'd be against that too, only because she probably wouldn't want me fighting either. I guess it doesn't matter… as long as I can see? I guess?”

“You're so indecisive,” he pinched her cheeks softly, pouting. “I'm hoping to have it ready by the next time we go on a mission.”

“I… I can't go with you guys… I'm not an avenger! Plus!! All superheroes have  _ cool _ backstories! I'm just… I'm just me!”

“...  _  That's  _ what you're concerned about? Seriously? You can spar with both Nat and Clint, you have pretty decent endurance from your martial arts and swimming, and you can literally make a pile of  _ dirt _ fight for you. But… you're not capable of being a superhero.  _ Right _ .” The sarcasm in his voice was thick by the end of his little speech. It was an attempt to rile her up, knowing she hated it when he gave her that tone.

“I could  _ die _ , Tony!”

“That's what the suit’s for.”

“I could still die…” she pouted, crossing her arms.

“That's what we're here for. We help keep each other safe. You already have three people who care about you on the team. We wouldn't let anything serious happen. You’d be a  _ huge _ help to the team… Okay, how about this. Lemme finish up with the suit, and we’ll go from there. Sound fair?”

She sighed finally, pinching his cheek. “Fine,  **_but_ ** when I say I’m uncomfortable, you back down.”

“Don’t worry. I’d never try to push you further than you could go. Besides, most of the stuff I’d be taking you on would be raids, so we’d have an advantage anyway. C’mon, though. Pep wanted to go out for food.”

* * *

 

Kiana pulled the curtain and walked out from the makeshift changing room, standing in front of Tony, Bruce, and Sammy with her arms crossed. She was wearing the suit Tony had made for her, now with a pair of goggles that covered her eyes and wrapped around her the back of her head, an earpiece connected so she could stay in contact with everyone. The goggles were black with the glass tinted a light blue.

“Okay. Gavin, tell her about the specs.”

“ _ Sure. Would you prefer Miss Mariveil or Kiana? _ ”

“Kiki’s fine. You can simplify it. I’ve got a headache and I’m not in the mood for lengthy explanations.”

“ _ I can tell. I have been programmed to monitor your health as to make sure nothing is to go wrong during fights. Mr. Stark designed it with leather to be sturdy for fighting with the added technology of increasing the percentage of your powers by roughly fifty percent. In case of emergencies, I can increase the percentage which will allow me to channel your power to create a safer situation for you. This is mostly if you become unconscious or are severely wounded. Your goggles are used to keep communication with the others while out on a mission. I am also able to assist you with how best to maneuver. _ ”

“Okay, Gavin, was it? I have a question.”

“ _ Of course, what is it? _ ”

“Can I call you Ethan? I think that fits your voice better.”

“ _ If that’s what you wish, then you can address me as Ethan. _ ”

“Whoa! Hey,” Tony butted in, crossing his arms. “I made him. You can’t just go and change his name.”

“ _ Sir, I was created for Miss Mariveil. I believe it is up to her to decide what to call me. _ ”

“I like him,” Kiana smirked, putting her hands on her hips. “So, I’m guessing we’re going to do one last test run? Since this should be the ‘final’ version?”

“I do have a question,” Sammy piped up, “why is limited in the first place?”

“ _ After several tests and examination of everything, it has been determined that fifty percent is high enough to use her powers for an extended time with no major repercussions. However, any higher than about fifty-five to sixty percent would make it difficult for Kiki to keep control of her powers. It also is harder to scan the stress on her body the higher the percentage. _ ”

“Now we can work on testing this baby out,” Kiana smirked as she looked towards the machine she had been testing her powers on since Tony first made the suit. She lifted her arms and gestured her hands to begin lifting the machine, watching as it started lifting off of the floor until it was about halfway from the floor and the ceiling. She grinned to herself, giving out a happy laugh as she slowly brought it back down. The others quietly stared, waiting to see what she had to say.

“I didn’t feel anything, Tony! It felt no different than lifting a pencil!” she shouted, jumping up to hug him. He held her tightly and swung her around, joining her in happy laughter.

“That’s great!” he finally let her down, smiling, “Gav--Ethan, stress levels?”

“ _ Everything is normal, Mr. Stark. _ ”

* * *

 

“Tony!” Kiana called out as she watched Tony stare into space, making her way down to him. He was staring blankly forward towards what was formerly Loki’s scepter. He shook his head, seeming to come to before reaching his arm out, the glove of his armor coming before he grabbed it. 

“Are you okay?” she asked, brows raised as she saw something in the corner of her eye. She tried to see what it was, but nothing was there once she did look. He finally turned and faced her, brows knitted together.

“I’m fine. Are you?” He ushered her up the stairs and out of the area.

* * *

 

“Hey, Pep! Tony’s throwing a party in a couple of days, are you coming?” Kiki asked, pressing the a button on the side of her goggles as they collapsed down into one ear piece. Pepper raised a brow as she watched the goggles collapse, concern growing on her face.

“What is that?”

“Huh? Oh, uh… It’s my suit. It’s so I can use my powers without putting too much strain on myself.”

“ _ Use _ ?!  _ For what _ ?! Did-” she stopped and grabbed her arms, gesturing over some cuts and scrapes she had received when they went on their mission, “Did Tony make this?!  _ He _ should  _ know _ better than to take  _ you _ out on a mission!”

“I-It’s not that bad…” she tried to retort, feeling Pepper grabbing her hand and pulling her towards where she would find Tony.

“I don’t care! That’s not the point!”

It took a minute or two before they found him, Pepper more furious the longer it took to get to him. He smiled at the two, about to say something before he was cut off.

“What the hell is this about?! How could  _ you _ let  _ her _ go out on a mission?!  _ She could die, Tony! _ ”

“W-whoa, Pep… She was great! She was never alone, I had an eye on her all the time! I would never let anything happen to her!” he tried to reassure her.

“ _ That’s _ not  _ what _ I’m talking about! She  _ did _ get hurt! Do you see her arms?! What if this causes her to relapse?!” Her brows furrowed, forcing him to look over the cuts and scrapes.

“Pepper,” Tony gently rubbed her shoulders, “nothing happened. How about this? I won’t take her out on another mission.”

“ **_You said you wouldn’t be making anymore suits!_ ** ” she hissed, pushing his hands off of her shoulders. “I’m not going to let you risk Kiki’s life, too!” She grabbed Kiana’s hand, brows knitted together as she turned to walk off. He grabbed her hand before she left out the door, frowning.

“Don’t you think isolating her and taking her from her friends will worsen her depression?! Besides, she’s an  _ adult _ , I think she should be given the chance to choose what she gets to do!”

“Ugh!  **_Fine_ ** !  _ I’m  _ **_leaving_ ** !” she hissed at Tony, gently holding Kiana’s hands. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me, okay? I’m available any time,” she gave her a tight hug before a soft kiss on her forehead, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her. Kiana frowned, staring at the floor.

“ _ I’m sorry _ ,” she murmured, soft tears forming in her eyes.

“Hey, hey… It’s not your fault, okay? You didn’t make Pep leave. It’ll be alright,” he pulled her into a hug, calming her down from the previous tension.

* * *

 

The party began as planned, most showing up around the start of it while others straggled into the tower. Most of them chatting with one another, others at the bar getting a drink, some others just watching the excitement from the comfort of their own little zone. Sammy and Kiana were sitting on a couch together, watching the party go on from off in the corner.

“I plan on taking pictures. Everyone’s probably going to act stupid, so I want as much proof as possible to make fun of them with later on,” Kiana smirked, scrolling on her phone as glanced around to see if there was anything picture worthy.

“I’m glad you’re here. I barely know anyone and I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone either,” Sammy murmured, taking a sip of her drink. The two chatted as they watched the others, taking pictures and laughing at some of the antics of the others. Tony strolled his way over to the corner, staring down at the two with a brow arched.

“What’re you two up to?”

“Avoiding social interaction.”

“Makes sense for you, but what about you? Are you still upset about what happened with Pep?” His voice softened by his second question. Kiana gave a quick flash of a half-smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

“I’m just not fully feeling up for partying. I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed, I guess.”

“Hey… it’ll be alright. I’ll make sure of it. If you want to talk, just grab me, okay?” He asked, receiving a nod in response before he rejoined the majority of the party. The party started to slow and eventually ended with just the members of the Avengers, Maria, Rhodey, Helen Cho, Sammy, and Kiana. There became a challenge with some of them in trying to pick up Thor’s Mjolnir, Kiana recording in short bursts as each person tried to lift it, laughter filling the room during the struggles. After Thor saying ‘You’re all not worthy’ and some bickering among everyone, there was a loud screeching that forced everyone to wince and cover their ears, looking around in attempts to find what made the noise.

* * *

 

“Tony, I-... I’m sorry about Jarvis... “ Kiana gently wrapped her arms around Tony’s shoulders, leaning over him slightly as he sat on his chair, hands in his lap. She squeezed softly as she hugged him, knowing how upset he must be.

“I…” he balled his hands, nails lightly digging into his fists. “I have to stop him.”

“You won’t have to do it alone,” she spoke softly, leaning her head against his gently. He sighed, lifting his arms to hug her back, feeling vulnerable and weak yet comforted by the simple action.

* * *

 

“Just be careful, okay?” came Kiana’s voice to Tony, brows knitted together as she looked around, watching as Tony intercepted Ultron. She watched as the fight began, working to stop the bullets from hitting the others and disarming some of the men that were brought in. She helped from the sidelines, staying out of sight and making it easier for the others to take down the enemies. A hand found its way around her throat, squeezing as she was lifted into the air, being face to face with Ultron now.

“ _ Why _ is it I can’t find any files on you? I would assume Stark would want to keep something on you and that little suit he made, but I can’t find anything,” he spaced the last four words out as he spoke.

“ _ Kiki, _ ” she heard Ethan through the earpiece, struggling to keep breathing, “ _ since he’s not human, you can directly use your powers on him. Take advantage of that to get him off of you, then use the railing behind you to get down to the others. _ ” Her brows knitted together, moving her hands and using her powers to pry his hand off of her throat, landing on the walkway below the two. After inhaling deeply for the first time in about thirty seconds, she then threw him through the nearest wall before grabbing onto the railing and bending it to get down onto the lower floor.

“Oh jeez,” she murmured, seeing everyone except Clint down.

“You can say that again.”

“ _ Natasha, I could really use a lullaby. _ ” came Tony’s voice through the headset, causing the two to look at one another.

“Well, that’s not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down, you got no back up here.” Clint responded.

“I’m not down! I’m on my way,” Kiana stood up swiftly, ready to rush out.

“ _ No, you stay with Barton. He’ll need help getting everybody back to the jet. I’ll meet up with you when I’ve gotten Bruce back. _ ”

“He’s right, we should work on that before anyone else shows up. I can carry one person, do you think you could use your powers?”

“Yeah. Let’s just get them on something that I can lift.” The two worked together to get two of their teammates on a large sheet of metal they found lying around before taking them back to the jet together. Tony and Bruce eventually rejoined them as they left the area, headed towards a safe house in attempts to stay underground for a while.


	7. Good Guy Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Some cursing, bruises, hospitalization, broken bones  
> This chapter happens during Age of Ultron and somewhat after.

Tony plopped down on the bed, kicking his shoes off and letting them plop to the floor. It was the room that Clint and Laura was letting him stay in until they left to finish the fight that had been started. He heard the door open and turned his head to see Kiana walking into the room with him, closing the door behind herself. She pulled her shoes off, grabbing the ones he let fall to the floor and setting both pairs next to the door. He sat up and looked at her as she sat down at the edge of the bed.

“Hey,” she smiled softly.

“Hey…” he offered a half smile, “Ugh… I seriously can’t believe this.” He groaned as he plopped back against the bed, covering his face with his arm. “We’re stuck here… while he’s out there… he’s out there doing who knows what!”

She crawled up further on the bed, leaning on her elbows while lying next to him. “We all need to allow ourselves a second to breathe. If we rush out there right now, who knows what’ll happen.”

“We don’t have a second to breathe! This is worse than New York! He can access  _ anything _ on the internet! It’s not just a bunch of enemies shooting at us and breaking buildings! I... “ He buried his face into his hands, slightly pulling at the ends of his hair. She gently grabbed his hands and pulled them off of his face, staring down at him and giving a soft smile.

“We’ll figure this out together. We’re like a family. We have each other’s back.” He looked up at her as she spoke, eyes widening as he looked over her neck, a large bruise there around where Ultron had grabbed her by the throat. He reached his hand to gently touch the bruise, eyes watering as his lips parted, struggling to find the words he wanted to say. He pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly and resting his head against the top of hers.

“This is my fault… I… I got you hurt… This… This would have never happened if I didn’t insist on bringing you out to fight… Pepper was right. I should have let you go with her when she left…”

“Tony…”

“I’m so stupid… I have to stop him…” he was brought out of his daze by the sharp feeling of nails pinching his cheeks, a stern look from the female he was holding.

“Tony. You didn’t know what was going to happen. I’m sure that girl used her powers to make you see something she wanted you to. She fed on your paranoia. People make mistakes Tony… the best thing we can do is work to fix them as best as we can and I’ll be with you the entire time. ‘Kay?” She smiled brightly at him, gentle blue eyes filled with hope meeting harsh brown eyes holding a mixture of anger, self hatred, and sorrow. He gently cupped his hand over her cheek, pulling her face down before pressing his lips against hers. Her eyes widened, a red flushing over her cheeks before swiftly pulling back and staring down at him with widened eyes.

“T-Tony… I know you’re upset… but what about Pep?” He sighed, covering his face with his hands.

“I know… I’m sorry. I… dunno. I’m just so confused. I’ve never felt like this before…” He groaned.

“Well… why don’t you talk about it? What are you confused about?” Her expression changed as she talked, slightly worried about him.

“I… It’s just… I think... I like both you and Pepper? I don’t know… You’ve both been there for me in different ways… I’ve never been more comfortable than when you both have been living with me… Yet I’m still extremely worried… I’m terrified of anything happening to either of you.”

She couldn’t help but laugh, resting head against his chest as she tried to stop herself. His brows furrowed, pouting slightly and poking her cheek.

“I’m having a moment, what the heck is so funny?” his tone was offended, but his expression showed he was joking.

“You don’t remember, do you?” she laughed, looking up at him.

“Just continue or let me finish being emotional for the first time in my life,” he jokingly mocked, knowing she knew that was definitely not true.

“You were joking a while ago, when you were flirting with me,” she rolled her eyes with a giggle, “you made a comment about convincing Pepper to be poly. I dunno how she’ll even feel about the idea, but we can talk it over when things calm down a little. She’s a lot more understanding than a lot of people I know. I mean being polyamorous isn’t even that unusual. There are a lot of people who are in poly relationships. We’ll work on that later, though. Right now we have to focus on saving the world, mmkay?”

He gave a soft smile in response, kissing her cheek and nodding before letting his head fall back on the pillow.

* * *

 

Tony ran into the hospital room, barely having time to breathe after landing. He frantically looked through the numbered rooms, almost missing it before sliding around and making his way into the room.

“Oh, hey Tony…” Kiana weakly murmured from the hospital bed, bandages around her head, covering her eye. There were bandages on her arms as well, while the rest of her was covered with the sheet.

“What did the doctor say?” he asked so fast, he forgot to breathe until he managed to get it out, taking a deep breath afterwards. “I should’ve stopped you from coming… I… I should’ve taken better precautionary actions to make sure it didn’t happen…” he murmured to himself.

“Hey… It’s not that bad. I just need to take it easy for a while and let my body heal up. He said I should avoid using my powers for up to a month and up to a year or two before I can use my powers at their full potential again. It just means I’ll have to get used to cooking with my own two hands again,” she laughed softly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll hire you a personal chef. I want you doing as little as possible until you’re completely better.” He leaned down, hugging her as he rested his head on her shoulder. “What other problems did the doctor say?”

“A couple of broken ribs, some other broken bones…” she winced softly, rubbing her head. “C-can you call the nurse? S-sorry… I’ve been having trouble thinking due to the pain... “

“Yeah, of course. Anything you need, just let me know.” He walked out the door to find a nurse.

* * *

 

Tony visited Kiana every single day she was still in the hospital, making arrangements at the tower to make it easier for her to get around while still healing up. It was between five to six months before she returned to the tower. The two were sitting on the couch, her surrounded with lots of pillows, as he brought up some clips off of the internet.

“This kid has been acting like a vigilante. His whole scheme is like spider boy or something.”

“Super human abilities or just?”

“It seems like it, just watch,” he responded, starting the video as it showed someone dressed up in red and blue running around and stopping minor criminals. They watched some more videos, most of them being news clips, but some being random recording from people on the street watching the incident happen in front of them.

“Lemme guess,” she pursed her lips as the last video was stopped, “you want to recruit him for the Avengers?”

“No. I mean he seems like he would be a useful ally, but I don’t think I’d want to drag him into this. I already know who he is, so I can go visit him when I need to, but I want to try to avoid that for now.”

“Oh yeah? Is he a teen?”

“Good guess. I don’t want to drag him down into this lifestyle if I can avoid it… but… if need be I will go recruit him.”

“Good guy Tony trying to let Spider boy live his life as normally as he can.”

“Shut up,” he laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her head against his own shoulder. “Anyway, I got some of your favorite movies and food is on the way.”

“Good. Pizza?”

“Yeah and some other stuff. Might be a few ding dongs.”

“Ding dong,” she giggled and pressed his nose, looking at the television as a movie started.


	8. Thank you, Pepper.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Tony ever learn butting heads isn't the only way to get through to people? But will Kiana listen to him when he tells her to stay?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happens during a bit before and during Captain America Civil War.

 

“Hey, Kiki,” Tony gently knocked on the open door, peering at the female who sat with crossed legs, computer in lap, on her bed. She looked up at him, wearing her glasses for the first time in a while. The two stayed at Stark tower still, partially on Tony’s part to keep her from trying to join in on the missions the others went on. In a month it would be a year since the incident, but he knew that she was far from being better. Both Friday and Ethan had scanned her over every now and then, but there were still complications that could cost her life.

“What’s up?”

“I was thinking… we’ve known each other for a couple of years… and we’ve been through alot together…” he ran his hands through his hair while he sighed, “look, I’m not great with expressing my feelings, but… You know I like you… and I figure you wouldn’t have made the suggestion to talk about things if… maybe… you didn’t like me too?” His brows raised, feeling a bit stupid for asking the question, but wanting to know the answer.

“I-I…” she pursed her lips as a small blush formed on her lips, “I like you, too, Tony… but… what about Pepper?”

“I don’t know if things will fix themselves between us.” He sighed. “Only time will tell that, really, but I… I guess I don’t want to waste time asking ‘what if’. I like you… at this point I think I can say I love you. The only other person I’ve really felt like this with is Pepper… Not that I’m trying to replace her with you! God Tony, maybe you should think before you speak,” he muttered the last line to himself as he sat on the edge of her bed.

“I get it, Tony. From my guess with the conversation we had, you’ve been thinking about dating me for a while. There’s nothing that can replace people… I understand that, but…” he tensed at her pause, not quite sure what to expect, “I do love you, too.” She leaned over to him, giving him a soft peck on the lips. He smiled and pulled her into a big hug, falling back onto the bed with her. They both experienced a great loss when Pepper left, only getting to see her every now and again. She was willing to see Kiana more, but due to her injuries she was almost always around Tony.

“Also, apparently some people online have been trying to give me a superhero name. The one that’s caught on the most is Midnight Sorceress. See?” She pulled up her phone and showed off some fanart of her in her suit, most of the titles in relation to the name she told him. He laughed and muttered something about how ‘the real thing is cuter’.

* * *

 

“God, he’s so stubborn. I wish he could just sit down and listen to others for once in his life,” Tony grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder, glaring at the floor. Kiana slid her arms around his chest, hugging him from the side.

“You should probably get that looked at, hun… You can be pretty stubborn, too, though,” she gave a soft laugh. She rested her head on his shoulder, squeezing him softly as she continued hugging him.

“I don’t have time to get it looked at. They’ll probably want me to stay in the hospital or something... I _have_ to go and find Steve before something worse happens…”

“Well, you’re off to go get Spider-boy, right? So you can stop Steve before he leaves with Bucky, right? Let me go with you. We can go pick up the boy, then go head off to stop Steve.”

“No way,” his voice was stern as he spoke, “I am _not_ letting you go out on the battlefield again. You haven’t even fully recovered from the incident in Sokovia! Just yesterday you tried using your powers to make breakfast and nearly passed out! What would have happened if I wasn’t home?!”

“I wasn’t planning on fighting…”

“ _Bullshit_ . Look,” he rubbed his temple, giving a heavy sigh, “I didn’t mean to yell at you, I honestly didn’t. I’m sorry... I just know how… how stubborn you can be. I just don’t want anything to happen to you again. It might be worse than last time and you might not come back from something like that... _Please_ ,” he stopped and held her gently by the shoulders, “just stay here and keep an eye on things for me... okay?”

“Alright… Just remember that I worry about you too, okay? I love you,” she frowned as she spoke, giving a small smile at the end.

“I love you, too,” he leaned in and gave her a kiss. “I’ll make sure that if nothing else, Friday keeps you up to date on what’s happening. Just make sure to keep your eyes and ears open around here. I’ll need an insider if they’re trying to do something before we can stop them, it wouldn’t surprise me if they jump down our throats before the thirty six hours is up. Also, keep an eye on Sammy; I know you haven’t had much time to check in on her since you’ve been healing, but I know the sudden disappearance of Bruce has taken a pretty big toll on her.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her, don’t worry. Send me as many updates as you can, got it?” He nodded before pulling her into a tight hug, kissing her again before heading off.

* * *

 

“How have you been doing?” Kiana asked as she sat next to Sammy, offering the other a slice of cake she had just cut and brought over. She took it from her, poking the fork into the pastry before pushing the small piece into her mouth.

“I miss him,” she frowned, leaning further back into the couch and pulling her legs up so she could rest her plate against her knees. She stared blankly at the television as she ate, clearly in thought about the missing Avenger.

“I know… It’s bad enough that I haven’t talked to Pep much, but I don’t know what I’d do if Tony disappeared like that…” she sighed, starting to eat her own piece of cake.

“At least you know Tony likes you… I don’t know how Bruce feels. I know he’s scared to get close to people… I seriously get that. If it wasn’t for him… I probably would have run back to my family… I would have never realized how abusive they were towards me, especially my father… I just… it’s been hard.”

“I know,” she spoke softly while pulling her into a hug, gently petting her hair down. “It’s been a year and still no word… Hopefully we’ll hear something from him soon. I’m sure he misses you just as much as you miss him.”

“I don’t doubt that,” she gave a small smile while returning the hug, “but you shouldn’t be here. You should be looking after Tony so he doesn’t do something stupid, which... you know he will.”

“I know, but there’s not much I can do,” she frowned, “I don’t want to risk him doing something even worse because he’s worried about me being there…”

“He’s going to do something stupid whether you’re there or not, but he might do something less stupid to avoid you getting hurt. _Go_. I’ll be here when you get back.” She poked and prodded her sides, forcing giggles to erupt from the female.

“ _Fine_ … but don’t _you_ do anything stupid, either!”

* * *

 

“Hey, Pep,” Kiana nervously slid into the office where the redhead was working, receiving a smile as the other female jumped from her seat to hug her.

“I’m _so_ sorry I haven’t been around… As you know, things with Tony got hectic and then things got hectic here… How have you been doing? I heard you got hurt,” she gently stroked her cheek with her thumb, frowning softly.

“I’m fine now,” she smiled lightly, “I do have a favor to ask, though.”

“Absolutely sweetie, what do you need?”

“I’m… I’m afraid that Tony might be heading off to do something stupid.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“He’s still not doing well, Pep. I’m afraid something’s going to happen that can’t be fixed… I don’t… I don’t want to lose him…”

Pepper gently wiped the tears from the other’s eyes, pressing her forehead gently against hers while holding her.

“Go make sure he comes back safely for both of us.”

“Thank you, Pepper. Watch after Sammy for me while I’m gone, okay?”

“I definitely will. Also,” she smirked as she pulled back to let the other start leaving, “when did you and Tony start dating?”

“I… Uhm… How did you… N-nevermind!! I’ve got to go!” A red crept over her face, starting from her nose and making its way to her ears. She began heading towards the door, trying to get out of the conversation quickly.

“I’ll let you go for now, but you’re answering me when the two of you return!” She laughed as she shouted, watching the other scurry out the building.


	9. I can’t lose her…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where did Kiana learn to be so stubborn? Oh, right, probably from Tony. But... the question is, what will come from her stubbornness this time around?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happens during Captain America Civil War.

Kiana ran up to the car that was parked nearby, leaning against it while smiling at the two males nearby. One was this ‘Spider-man’ that Tony went to go talk to, a teen named Peter, and the other was Tony’s friend and chauffeur Happy Hogan.

“H-Hey, fellas. Are we ready to go?” her voice cracked a bit as she said ‘hey’, smiling awkwardly at the two.

“Wait, wait, wait. Tony never said anything about bringing you to the airport.” Happy responded, brows furrowed as he rubbed his temple.

“ _ Hey _ ,  _ hey _ , now… Calm down~ I know you’re annoyed you have to  _ babysit _ the kid, but you know me. I never cause any trouble. Besides, it was kind of a last minute change,” she waved her hand back and forth, “Tony told me he wanted me to get familiar with the kid. I mean, hey, I might be working with him sometime in the future after all.”

Happy sighed, “fine, get in. We don’t really have a lot of time to argue about this, so let’s go.”

Both Peter and Kiana slid into the backseat, the female watching as the younger recorded his journey. After a short interaction between the two males, Happy rolled up the window to avoid further conversation.

“H-hi… I’m Peter,” he started off a bit awkwardly, not quite sure what to say, “So… uh… Y-you know Tony?”

“Yeah, I mean,” she gave a small smile as she twirled her hair between her fingers, “we  _ are _ kind of dating. I’ve known him, personally anyway, since after the Mandarin incident a couple of years ago.”

“Oh! S-sorry… I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine,” she laughed softly, “it hasn’t exactly gotten out there yet. He didn’t want to drag me into the public eye until things settle out a little bit.”

He gave a quiet ‘I see’ in response, the car growing silent as both of them retreated into their own thoughts. The only sounds that could be heard were the other cars speeding by and the slight rattle when the car drove over small debris in the road.

“What did you mean we might be working together?” he finally managed to ask, clearly having thought it over after a minute to himself. “Do you know where we’re going to?”

“Of course. I actually helped a lot back during the Sokovia fight.”

“ _ Wait,  _ wait…” he paused to think. “I think I’ve heard about you… Are you… the _Midnight Sorceress_?” he gestured his hands in the way she usually did when she fought, causing the other to give a small giggle.

“Yep, that’s me.”

“That’s  _ so _ cool! I… I still can’t believe I’m actually going to be fighting alongside the  _ Avengers _ .”

“You’ll actually be fighting against some of them,” she laughed softly, “although no idea where Thor or Bruce is. Admittedly let’s keep this, me coming with you guys and all, between us, okay? I’m hoping that I can avoid joining the fight, so I don’t want anyone to know I’m here just yet.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Thanks, kid,” she giggled and pulling him into a hug.

* * *

 

“Hey, should I go to the bathroom before?” Peter asked Happy as they climbed onto the plane, carrying his stuff with him.

“There’s a bathroom on it,” Happy sighed as they got into it. Peter quickly gawked at the lack of a pilot before plopping down in the seat across from Happy.

“Is that where you’re going to sit?”

“Yeah.”

“Is this your first time in a private plane?”

“First time on  _ any _ plane!” Happy stood up and walked to a chair a bit away from him, sitting down. Kiana slid over to the seat that the other male had just left, smiling at the younger.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just a little bit… I don’t think he likes the idea of being a ‘babysitter’. Of course he wouldn’t argue with Tony, though.”

“Yeah, seems like it. So, Tony gave me some basics… but would you be able to explain a bit more of what’s going on?”

“Steve, Cap, doesn’t agree with the accords. It’s politics, so it’s never easy, but… Tony’s right. We can work on revising the accords later, but we need to work with the public right now. There’s been a lot of damage and now there are a few fires we need to put out.”

“I see. So we need to stop him before something worse happens?”

“Yep. Hopefully things go smoothly, but knowing how stubborn he and Tony can be I doubt it. Just be careful out there on the battlefield, okay? I know you want to impress ‘ _ Mr. Stark _ ’, but don’t go beyond your limits. I know you’re strong, but you’re still a teenager.”

“I understand. Any advice you can give me against the guys we’re fighting?”

“Has Tony told you anything?” He explained what he said, and she gave a few of her own tips for him as well.

* * *

 

Tony (Iron Man), Natasha (Black Widow), T’Challa (Black Panther), Rhodey (War Machine), Vision, and Peter (Spider-Man) fought against Steve (Captain America), Bucky (Winter Soldier), Clint (Hawkeye), Sam (Falcon), Wanda (Scarlet Witch), and Scott (Ant-Man). Everyone started fighting against someone on the opposing team, each person desperately trying to stop the other in an attempt to move forward with their own agendas. Kiana was on top of the roof as she watched the fighting, making sure to stay just out of sight.

She bit her lip as she watched everyone get knocked around, wanting to step in and try to help or stop everything. Vision destroyed part of the airport, attempting to stop Bucky and Steve from getting to a quinjet in the nearby hangar. She was the first to see the jet leaving, using her powers to allow her to run along the rooftops towards the direction they were headed. By the time she got to the edge of the roof, attempting to slow the jet down with her powers, she felt the air rush by her as Tony, Rhodey, and Sam flew past her. She bit her lip as she realized she had to stop, hoping that the two could get to them before they left out of the area. 

It was then Vision attempted to stop Sam with his powers, hitting Rhodey as the other narrowly dodged the blast. Her jaw dropped as she watched him beginning to fall, realizing that neither of the two would reach him before he plummeted into the ground. Ignoring everything in her body screaming at her not to, she used the full extent of her powers to lift the surrounding dirt and using it to grab him from the sky. She slowly lowered him to the ground as quickly as she could, her vision failing her as everything became blurry. There was a great stabbing pain throughout her body, but at the same time she felt numb. She struggled to walk towards a more stable area of the roof, knees buckling as she could no longer manage to keep control of her body, sliding off of the edge of the roof towards the others in the airport.

“ _ Kiki, I’ve contacted Mr. Stark and an ambulance is on the way. There isn’t much else I can do since you did not bring your suit. I’m currently attempting to reach another member of the team. _ ” she heard through her earpiece, the blue and white blur of the skies starting to fade from her sights as darkness covered it.

“Tell Tony… I love him,” she barely managed to spurt out before she passed out.

 

On the ground below, Clint was the first one to run towards where she was falling, just barely managing to get her before she hit the ground below. Frantically he checked her for a pulse, feeling a faint one before attempting to wake her up.

“Kiki,  _ come on _ , you’ve been through worse than this.  **_Come on_ ** ,” he hissed through gritted teeth. Tony landed just then with Rhodey, flipping up his face plate and going towards the two.

“ _ Barton _ , give her to me and I can take her to the hospital,” he said, trying to hold back his own mixture of emotions in the current matter.

“If she dies…” he turned and glared up at him, anger boiling through his veins, “ _ it’s your fault _ . You should have  _ never _ let her come and fight! You  **knew** she wasn’t fully healed after the last fight!”

“Let her?!” he scoffed, anger in his tone rising, “I didn’t even know she was here! I  _ told _ her not to come!”

“Maybe you should have had her locked up somewhere, too,  _ for her safety _ .” Clint scoffed while rolling his eyes, finally letting him take her as they started rounding up the remaining members who fought against them.

* * *

 

“How… How is she doing?” Tony asked, voice a little shaken up as he talked to the doctor. No one was allowed to see her for the past few days and that worried him. He knew he had to go off to finish what was started, but he couldn’t pry himself away from the hospital.

“She’s currently comatose. Although there are little to no outer wounds or bruising, many of her bones were broken, problems with her muscles and ligaments, and internal hemorrhaging. It appears her powers derived the extra boost it needed in order to accomplish what she did from tearing her body apart internally.”

“ _ Great _ ,” he sighed and rubbed his temple. He wanted to be mad, but he just… he couldn’t feel. Everything felt like it was a bad bedtime story or a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. It was almost like he was watching someone else’s life. “Is she going to be okay?”

“Physically? She’ll be fine. Her body will heal and we’ll make sure the bleeding stops. Mentally? I’m unsure. There is one other thing that concerns me, though…” He pulled him into a nearby room and flipped the light on, putting up two scans of her head. They were pretty much identical, except for a small foreign object in her brain; the one on the right being bigger than the one on the left. “This scan? This was from her last physical. Yes, the object is still there, but at that point it was small enough to allow blood to pass through. It can’t be said when the object got bigger, but we’ll need to operate immediately as to avoid any brain damage.”

“Oh… What will happen?” He could feel his focus slipping, but he struggled as hard as he could to stay with him.

“We’re not sure at this point, but what we’re worried about is what will if we don’t. We need to operate,  _ soon _ , Mr. Stark. We need an approval from someone close to her before we technically can. If you approve this now we can start the operation as soon as possible, if not we will get in contact with her parents and as soon as they agree we would start.”

“No, no… If you have to do it now, then you have my approval. I have to call someone, though. This is the person you can contact if you can’t reach me. She’ll be able to answer any questions you have.”

“We will give you a call to let you know how she takes the operation.”

* * *

 

Tony sighed as he leaned against the outer wall of the hospital, staring up at the sky. He could feel and hear his heartbeat in his ears, pulse picking up as his eyes began to sting. Rubbing the slight tears away, he mumbled to himself before reaching in his pocket and pulling out his phone. He scrolled until he saw the familiar redhead, throat closing as his chest tightened, pressing the call button and pulling it against his ear. He didn’t know how she would take the sudden call, but he had to talk to her. There was a short pause between the rings, background noise filling the silence as she answered.

“Hello?”

“H-hey, Pep…” his voice cracked involuntarily, struggling to keep himself together, “I know we haven’t talked in awhile… but it’s kind of important.”

“Oh god…” she could hear the tone in his voice, worry filling her own, “you’re not dying again, are you?”

“God,” he gave a soft broken laugh, “I wish it were that simple.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“It’s Kiki. She…” he stopped as he struggled to get the words out, letting out a shaky breath, “she’s in the hospital. I… C-can you stay with her?”

“She’s… in the hospital?” her heart dropped as she licked her lips, “Of… of course! Where is she? What happened?” The questions came so fast out of her mouth that it was almost dizzying, forcing herself to take a couple of deep breaths afterwards.

“Well,” he couldn’t stop his voice from breaking as he told her what happened, “she’s comatose right now. She’s got… a lot of internal injuries… and…” He stopped as he rubbed his eyes, sighing. “They have to remove something from her brain. They don’t,” he couldn’t stop his soft sob, “They don’t know what’s going to happen. We might lose her Pep…” He repeated the last sentence softly through sobs, body shaking as he shook his head.

“I’ll.. I’ll be right there. I’m bringing Sammy with me, too…” she wiped tears away. “Just text me the address.”

“Thank you… Thank you…” He hung up and sent the address to her. He slid down along the wall, resting his arms on his knees as he hid his head between them. He couldn’t stop himself from fully breaking down into tears, nails digging into the fabric of his pants.

“I can’t lose her…”


End file.
